South China Morning Post, (December 8 2009) by Sam Olluver
“The five-act, 90-minute work is like porcelain, each aspect of the production is delicately wrought.”
“[T]he principal soloists combined flawless technique with subtle acting.
As Li Bai, Tian Haojiang's gripping bass voice commanded the stage, flipping to falsetto with acrobatic precision; tenor Chi Liming was a full-bodied Wine, soprano Zhou Xiaolin, as Moon, floated her lines, beautifully; Peking opera tenor Jiang Qihu was on form as Poetry and Magistrate.”
Link to the full review in the South China Morning Post
Opera, (January 8 2008 Issue) by Andrew Moravcsik
“Guo Wenjing’s opera, premiered last summer at Colorado’s Central City Opera and revived at the Shanghai’s Grand Theatre….succeeds brilliantly in capturing the complex interplay between the corporeal and the cerebral.”
“a tour de force performance…..A singing actor at the height of his powers, [Hao Jiang Tian] deployed a bright but warm voice to express a Shakespearean range of emotions.”
“This minor masterpiece of a chamber opera deserves global circulation.”
Link to the full review in Opera Magazine
Opera Now (November/December 2007) by Wes Blomster
“Stellar staging of the summer [Central City Opera] was the world premiere of Guo Wenjing’s Poet Li Bai, billed as a Western opera sung in Chinese……… mesmerising power of an original idiom that synthesises Eastern and Western traditions.”
Financial Times (October 12 2007) by Andrew Clark
“……another type of Chinese opera. It marries the native poetic/decorative idiom to western instrumentation and vocal delivery in a way that remains instinctively Chinese. Its potential has been brilliantly showcased by Guo Wenjing's Poet Li Bai.”
Link to the full review in the Financial Times
Opera News (October 2007) by David Shengold
“The piece is imagistic rather than action-driven, but it made for a compelling ninety minutes, especially given the fascinating production, designed in ravishing style by Yi Liming.”
“Hao Jiang Tian…..demonstrated his vocal stature, from stentorian outbursts to wonderfully deployed falsetto passages.”
“Poet Li Bai merits wider exposure.”
Link to the full review in Opera News
Toronto Sun (August 25 2007) by William Littler
“Chinese composers at forefront of trend”
Link to the full review in the Toronto Sun
Daily Camera (August 2007) by Wes Blomster
“The 90-minute work... recalls Winkelmann's characterization of classicism as
"noble simplicity and calm grandeur," for there was not one superfluous note and gesture…”
Link to the full review of the Daily Camera
Variety (July 16 2007) by Bob Bows
“Hao Jiang Tian’s expressive basso cantante captures Li Bai's sensitivity and visionary phrasing,
while his imposing stature argues for immortality.”
Link to the full review of Variety
Denver Post (July 9 2007) by Kyle MacMillan
“In short, Poet Li Bai is a total success.”
Link to the full review in The Denver Post
Opera, (March 2010) by Vincent H.K. Lau
“... the striking feature of Guo Wenjing’s Poet Li Bai will be its innovative marriage of Chinese aesthetics and the Western operatice idiom. The result is a work that nevertheless remains true to its Chinese roots.”
“As the muses the soprano Zhou Xiaolin (Moon) and Chi Liming (Wine) were characterful and vocally commendable, while Yang Bo displayed a suave lyric tenor as Interlude Soloist.”
“... the bass Tian Hao Jiang… was magnificent in both his singing and his delineation of Li Bai’s inner conflicts and love for life.”